The invention relates to sporting equipment, and more specifically the invention is concerned with a pitching machine, particularly for baseballs, which throws a ball to simulate either a pitched or a batted ball.
Ball throwing machines have been well known and have been produced in many different forms. For example, see the following U.S. patents, all of which relate to different types of ball throwing machines: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,152,186 (Koehler), 1,237,625 (Fergusson), 2,080,958 (Beasley), 3,277,878 (Pankratz), 3,722,494 (Slevin), 3,760,787 (Kahelin), 4,860,717 (Powell) and 5,123,643 (Heilhecker).
An advertisement entitled "Hits Strike Zone Consistently", from The Sporting Goods Dealer, Feb. 1971, shows a baseball pitching machine having some features similar to those of the present invention. Advertised as a product of Trius Products, Inc. of Cleves, Ohio, the pitching machine is human-powered, requiring no electricity, and the advertisement states that the machine cannot be left cocked and accidentally tripped. Also, the machine is characterized as being capable of throwing strikes to batters or fly balls to fielders, through adjustments to an adjustable throwing arm. Little disclosure of structure is available from the advertisement, but it appears that the user loads a force into the machine with his foot, storing energy in a tension spring which is released when the ball is thrown by the machine.
The remaining references listed above show various types of ball throwing machine, most of them baseball pitching machines, and some of which use elastic bands or springs to store energy which is released when the ball is thrown.
Nothing in the prior art disclosed a pitching machine having the features of the present invention described below, including the type of energy storage, the range of adjustability of throwing force, trajectory and height of a pitched ball, the foldable/collapsibility of the machine and the easy portability of the machine.